Do we need Galileo? How UK can build a navigation system for fraction of the EU's cost

BRITAIN'S historic departure from the European Union means the UK will not be part of the Galileo network after Brexit - but does the UK need access to Galileo? An expert has told Express.co.uk Britain could build its own navigations system for a fraction of the cost.

Brexit has presented an opportunity for the British space sector to shine without help from the EU. In December 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Britain will not use Galileo for defence infrastructure once Brexit is secured.

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Speaking to Express.co.uk, Professor Chris Chatwin from the University of Sussex argued there could be a big appetite for the British industry to develop its own systems.

He said: “The difficulty is knowing how the UK will get a revenue stream if you actually own a high accuracy satellite system.

“It seems as though you get a revenue stream from the fact that you can use the accurate signal but given that GPS provides a free signal, no one is going to pay for that.

“But then the market is very huge when it comes to GNSS.

“The market for downstream products like navigation for cars, for maritime environments, for things like UAVs and that kind of thing, there is an enormous market there for making chips for picking up the signal and actually providing that to someone who is trying to navigate somewhere.”

As part of a deal with the US, the UK has access to a high-accuracy signal from the American Global Positioning System or GPS.